13 complaints reported

2017 Audi Q7 Steering

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
13
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
1

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Nov 2025

Complete loss of steering control while driving at low speeds. Dashboard indicator illuminated for "Severe Steering Malfunction - Do Not Drive." Had the car towed to the dealership. Dealership indicated that the car needed a new steering rack and pinion. Cost estimate was $4000. The car had 72,000 miles with mostly highway mileage.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2025
Jul 2025

Was driving on small town road, pulling into gas station, and 'steering malfunction, stop car immediately' notice popped up, with red steering wheel icon above message with line across wheel and exclamation mark. I lost power steering at the same time, immediately. Very difficult to drive, and thankful it was not on busy, interstate road, and that nothing more happened. Very tough to drive, and so far, need to tow to Audi dealership to check and repair. I have been in touch with Audi, nothing they can do over phone, they suspect electronic issue. Very dangerous and disappointing. Just happy it did not cause death or injury.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2025
Mar 2025 Crash Injury

On Thursday, October 30, 2025, when I got seated in my car, put my seat belts on, and put the car in reverse gear to slowly get out of my parking space, it kept on going in reverse and won’t stop with break I tried to change the parking mode or drive mode but the steering column would not take any command. After 350 feet driven in reverse, it went into a ditch where it tried to turn it and the car was still in reverse, climbing out of the ditch, damaging another section of the fence, till I could turn off the engine with the ignition switch. It looks that the gear was stuck in reverse and after engine cut off it went back in drive mode. In the meantime, all four sides of the car were damaged and scratched all over, and there was damage on the bottom. Apparently it is electronic malfunction when the gear got stuck in reverse. Thank God that I was not in a busy parking lot, otherwise would have damaged dozens of cars and hurt many innocent bystanders. Will keep you posted till the Audi repair shop gives me a diagnosis

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2025
Feb 2024

The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering shaft bolt was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the failure was remedied. The contact was informed the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V149000(Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer was not yet contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2024
Dec 2023

SUMMARY Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain 2019 Audi Q8 and 2017-2019 Audi Q7 vehicles. The bolt connecting the steering shaft to the steering gear may loosen, possibly resulting in a loss of steering control. CONSEQUENCES A sudden loss of loss of steering control may increase the risk of a crash. REMEDY Volkswagen will notify owners, and Audi dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the steering shaft bolt, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 31, 2020. Owners may contact Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 36A1. Apparently my vin is not covered but others are. My car is telling me that this is the issue. Why are others covered and mine is not?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2023
May 2023

Power steering assistance unit stoped working suddenly while driving. Then car was very difficult to steer. Fault could not be reseted, unit was not accessible with service computer in Audi shop. The steering unit was replaced. Just by luck that did not happen while driving at high speed. This could have been resulting in crash with casualties. While browsing the internet for advice it shows multiple incidents with the Audi electric powered steering unit. In the attached pic’s it shows a wet rubber seal and a corroded drive shaft of the replaced part (note the part numbers). Water and oil can find its way into the resolver unit and render it useless, cause lost of feedback signal hence kill the unit. Additional observation: Month before this incident happen, while driving at low speed in warmer/hot environment, a stepper motor feeling was noticeable on the steering wheel. Also a sound can be heared similar to rubber scratches over a dry surface. The disturbance went away when the car cooled down for some hours. It would be advisable to investigate the issue further as the consequences of loss if steering power could be very serious. Wishing everyone a safe travel.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2023
Oct 2021

On intermittent and at unpredictable times while the car is in motion, the vehicle will show a series of two warnings while it appears to turn the steering wheel in the absence of any input from the driver. The first warning light indicates an electromechanical steering failure (indicator light flashes red for approximately one second) and the second states, "Distance warning: currently unavailable. See owner's manual." Unfortunately, there is not a description of a "distance warning" in the owner's manual to refer to for guidance. This has been a long-time issue and I have taken it to the dealership several times over the last two years to have it evaluated; however, since it is an intermittent issue they have not been able to replicate it and have not been able to offer any insight on fixing the problem. These occurrences are also sometimes coincident with with a separate warning that states, "Audi pre-sense: currently restricted. See owner's manual." These warnings also sometimes occur when the vehicle is stopped.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Aug 2021
Aug 2021

The contact owns a 2017 Audi Q7. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the power steer malfunction warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering control module and steering gear were faulty and needed to be replaced. The steering module and steering gear were replaced, and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 20V149000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 47,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2021
Jul 2021

While driving my audi Q7 2017 SUV on highway with my family (spouse and two kids), i got alert on audi dashboard that steering wheel is malfunction and was not able to use power steering, it immediately feels like manual steering. I also lost adaptive cruise control, lane assistance and object identification assistance. I took car to audi dealer and they refused to admit that there was a recall regarding this issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2021
May 2021

When turning the steering wheel there is a noise that sounds like something rubbing. It can be felt in the wheel.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2021
May 2020

WAS DRIVING NEW USED VEHICLE ON 55 MILE ZONE N MY LAND ASSISTANCE PULLED MY STARING TO RIGHT HARD ON SINGLE LANE TO THE INTERSECTION. MAY BE ONE SIDE LINE WAS GETTING WIDE FOR INTERSECTION. BUT IT WAS SUDDEN PULL. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2020
May 2019

CLICKING NOISE WHILE STOPING AND BUZZING WHILE TURNING. I AM NOT ALONE, BUT THERE ARE THOUSANDS LIKE OWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS , WHY NO OFFICIAL IS ASKING AUDI TO FIX IT? OR DO WE NEED FIRE AND CRASHES AND LIFE LOSSES FOR NHTS TO ISSUE A RECALL?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2019
Oct 2018

THE EARLY PRODUCTION OF MODEL YEAR 2017 AUDI Q7 HAS SIGNIFICANT STEERING NOISES, SAME AS 2015 MODEL YEAR Q5 (EXISTING RECALL)'S STEERING NOISE. THE LOUD CLICKING NOISE ALWAYS COME AT LOW SPEED, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOU TRY TO GET INTO A PARKING SPOT. ANOTHER BUZZING NOISE ALSO OCCUR DURING ANY TURNS. AUDI DEALER PROMISED TO REPLACE STEERING SHAFT BUT IT'S BEEN A YEAR AFTER THAT PROMISE AND WE STILL CANNOT GET THE REPAIR DONE. AUDI KEPT TELLING US THAT THE PART IS NOT AVAILABLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 AUDI Q7, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Feb 2017

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2017 Audi Q7 has 13 Steering complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.